Good, hidden deeds are a service to the church, pope tells employees December 21, 2023By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, News, Vatican, World News VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Like God’s decision to be born in a manger tucked away from the world, good deeds done in silence can express God’s love wherever they are performed, Pope Francis said. Delivering his Christmas greeting to Vatican employees and their families Dec. 21, the pope thanked them for their work, much of which is conducted behind the scenes and “may seem insignificant,” but “instead offer a service to the church and society.” “Goodness, even when it is hidden and invisible, grows without making noise,” he said. “It multiplies unexpectedly and spreads the scent of joy.” Pope Francis reflected on the context of Jesus’ birth to Mary and St. Joseph, “who are not in the spotlight,” but “in the poverty of a stable because there was no room for them at the inn.” Jesus, he said, “is the God of the little ones and the humble, and, with him, we all learn the way to enter the kingdom of God: not (with) an ostentatious and artificial religiosity, but by becoming small like children.” Many Vatican employees brought their young children to the audience. After delivering his speech, the pope passed through the crowd in the Paul VI Audience Hall in a wheelchair, taking his time to greet the families and handing out small chocolate Santas to the children. In his speech, Pope Francis urged each family to embrace the hiddenness and simplicity surrounding Jesus’ birth, particularly when “today we live in a time that sometimes seems obsessed with appearance.” “It is the age of makeup, everyone puts on makeup, not only on their faces but also on their souls, and this is bad,” he said, noting its especially harmful effects through social media. Pope Francis related the tendency to focus on appearance rather than substance to wanting precious drinking glasses without caring whether the wine served in them is of good quality or not. “But in the family, appearances and masks do not matter, or are short-lived,” he said. “What matters is that the ‘good wine’ of love, tenderness and mutual understanding is not lacking.” Rather than through grand, flashy gestures, God expresses himself through “closeness, compassion and tenderness,” the pope added. “Love, we know well, does not make noise. We live it in the hiddenness and in the smallness of daily acts, in the attention we can exchange with one another.” Pope Francis asked each family to be mindful of the small acts of gratitude in their households and encouraged them to pause before a Nativity scene, where “by looking at the crib, we can imagine the care, the tenderness of Mary and Joseph for the child that was born.” Read More Vatican News Pope: Schools should be centers of formation, not ‘achievement factories’ Pope appoints U.S. cardinal to manage Vatican’s troubled pension fund Pope approves simplified rites for papal funeral, burial Laity, women do not ‘rank’ last in the church, pope says at general audience Pope: Interreligious dialogue key to peace, youth education Pope meets Ukrainian first lady, decries war as ‘shameful tragedy’ Copyright © 2023 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Print
